COM 220: Introduction to Public Speaking

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Speech Topic Resources

Please follow the guidelines on pages 41-43 of teh course reader. In addition, remember:

• The topic should affect your audience collectively.
• The topic should be debatable by reasonable persons.
• The topic should be manageable in 6-9 minutes.
• You should argue from among existing options; don't write a new, unheard of policy

Here are some places to prompt your thinking about what is currently being proposed and debated:

UW issues

• ASUW Senate
• ASUW Board of Directors
• The Faculty Senate
• The UW Daily

Seattle issues

• City Council issues
• Council Conversations on the Seattle Channel
• the mayor's blog
• Ask the Mayor on the Seattle Channel
• The Conversation on KUOW
• City Inside/Out on the Seattle Channel
• Publicola (Seattle politics blog)
• Strange Bedfellows (Seattle politics blog)

Neighborhood Blogs (NextDoor Media)

• U-District
• Ballard
• Fremont
• PhinneyWood

Washington issues

• The State Legislature (when you find an interesting bill, be sure to read the bill analysis).
• The Governor's page (this is list of her current legislative priorities)
• Living Voters' Guide (an online forum for discussing ballot initiatives) and a list of the 2012 state initiatives
• Ballotopedia (a storehouse of various ballot issues listed by state)
• The Capitol Record (a state politics blog on TVW)

National issues

• What's currently happening on the floor of the House of Representatives
• Pending legislation in the Senate
• Policies supported by the President

General resources

• The Seattle Times and the New York Times are often useful for triggering a good topic (see the editorial pages especially)
• COM 220 Library Page        
• CQ Researcher (if you're off campus, you'll need to log in to your UW account)